PORCUPINE 



4763 



PORK 



Classes of porcelain known respectively as 

 hard and soft porcelain are recognized in trade. 

 Soft porcelain is of European manufacture and 

 contains materials that do not enter into the 

 real porcelain, to which the term hard applies. 

 Many beautiful articles of soft porcelain are on 

 the market, but they are less delicate than 

 those of hard porcelain. Porcelain is the most 

 expensive pottery made, and choice works com- 

 mand fabulous prices; the ordinary grades, 

 however, are within the reach of those of mod- 

 erate means and they make beautiful table- 

 ware. 



Consult Hobson's Porcelain of All Countries; 

 Dillon's Porcelain. 



PORCUPINE, pawr'kupine, a group of ani- 

 mals found in the forests of both hemispheres, 

 whose chief peculiarity is the possession of 

 strong, stiff quills, mixed with the coarse hair 

 on the back and sides. These quills are the 



Tin: PORCUPINE 



In the Illustration the nnlmal Is shown with his 

 quills thrown forward a characteristic attitude. 



animal's principal means of defense, for, unlike 

 l, rabbits and other rodents the order 

 to \vhidi they belong porcupines are slow- 

 moving and dull-witted. Ordinarily the quills 

 vn smoothly, but when the animal is 

 v stand sharply erect. That porcu- 

 pines shoot thin- quills at thru- enemies is 

 merely a legend, originating in the fact that 

 the spines come out easily when touched. As 

 these spines are fitted with numerous small 

 barbs that pull them deeper and deeper into 

 the flesh, a combat with a porcupine is a pain- 

 iangerous procedure, and many 

 an unwary hunting dog has retired from what 

 i an easy conquest with his point of view 

 hanged. 



There are two main divisions of the porcu- 

 pine family, inhabiting the forests of the New 

 World and the Old World, respectively. The 

 former are tree dwellers, but the latter live in 

 burrows in the ground. Of the American por- 

 cupines the most common is a species found in 

 the forests of Canada and of Northeastern 

 United States. It is about three feet long, in- 

 cluding the six-inch tail, and has yellowish- 

 white spines from two to three inches in length. 

 These quills, mingling with the black hair, give 

 the appearance of a black and white coat. The 

 home of this porcupine is a hollow log or crev- 

 ice in the rocks, but during the day it is usually 

 found in the trees. It feeds on green bark and 

 twigs. The Canadian porcupine is a clumsy 

 and stupid creature, and were it not for the 

 protective coat of quills it would be quite at 

 the mercy of its enemies. 



In America the porcupine is sometimes called 

 hedgehog, but the latter is a species not found 

 in the western hemisphere. See HEDGEHOG. 



Consult Seton's Life- Histories of Northern 

 Animals; Ingersoll's Wild Neighbors. 



PORCUPINE, a town in Ontario, one of the 

 greatest gold-mining camps in the world. The 

 opening of this camp was responsible for the 

 sudden increase in Ontario's gold production 

 from $42,625 in 1911 to $1,788,596 in 1912, and 

 approximately $10,000,000 in 1916. The town 

 is situated on Porcupine Lake and on a branch 

 of the Timiskaming & Northern Ontario Rail- 

 way, 450 miles north of Toronto. It is about 

 forty-five miles overland southwest of Coch- 

 rane, Ont. It is really composed of four set- 

 tlements, Porcupine, South Porcupine, Schu- 

 macher and Timmins, all of which are mining 

 camps. In 1911, the first year of the camp's 

 prosperity, it suffered a disastrous fire, but it 

 has since been rebuilt. Population in 1916, es- 

 timated, 6,000. 



PORK, the flesh of swine, used extensively 

 as a food. The different portions of the ani- 

 mal's carcass furnish varieties of meat which 

 >!> i.i 1 names. The flesh along the back- 

 bone (thr chine) and the span-ribs, correspond- 

 ing to the loin in lamb and veal, are used for 

 roasts, steaks and chops. Hams come from the 

 ; the flesh on the shoulders is also prc- 

 m the same manner as ham. The flank, 

 directly below the ribs, furnishes bacon. A su- 

 T grade of fat salt pork is cut from thr 

 back, on each side of the backbone. The hocks, 

 directly above the feet, are corned, that is, 

 cured by salting, and are a much- njoy. <1 < 

 man food. The trimmings of both lean and fat 



